Saturday, January 21, 2012

Settling In

I am in Uzhgorod, Ukraine!

I arrived this past Tuesday after my friend Darrel drove me from Budapest to the Hungarian/Ukrainian border near Mukachevo, Ukraine. My Team Leader, Doug, drove across and picked me up. We went straight to his home for dinner and then to a Church Youth Leader's Bible Study before I finally saw my "home" for the first time later that night.

I'm renting the first floor (2 bedrooms, kitchen, bath, living room and balcony) from a couple of youth workers from the church. They have a 15 or so year old son who speaks a little English.

So that was Tuesday.

On Wednesday Doug took me all over town to buy supplies. I got my phone set-up. I exchanged US Cash for Ukrainian money. I bought groceries. I bought household goods like towels and pots/pans. I bought a TV, Microwave, Toaster Oven and a space heater.

On Thursday I went with Doug to a regional Pastor's Network meeting. I guess it's held in different places and I think they meet quarterly. There were about 30 men and women there. A couple of them know Darrel and we hit it off pretty well. It's a big region though- ZaCarpatia Region (Carpathian) so some of them had to drive 4-5 hours.

Friday morning we had a Youth Ministry Coaches Meeting/Training time. That was good. I have some homework I need to work on. And then I had the afternoon free. So I walked to the local electronics store- El Dorado and tried to buy a Refrigerator and Washer/Dryer. Unfortunately my credit cards refused to work on the large transaction. So I took the Marshrutka (bus) back into the center of the city and exchanged more money at a bank and then went back to El Dorado. I bought my major appliances and had them delivered to my home later in the evening.

Today- Saturday- I went to the local version of Home Depot to get some plumbing supplies to get my Washer going...I think I have everything I need. And then I went into the city to take a few pictures. It's been a mostly sunny, pretty day but still with snow, slush, ice and mud on the cobblestone streets downtown. I haven't been very strategic in my walking around...I'll pull out my map and get serious about learning my way around in the coming days.

Here are a couple shots of the old town and the Uzh River that splits the town.

3 comments:

love getting to share in your life via the updates and pictures! and i loved the video of you on facebook of you in your new home!! thanks for sharing your journey with us....we love you and miss you, but seeing you here makes you not seem quite so far away!!!

About Me

Once upon a time I was a Student Minister. Before that I was a Wildlife Biologist-type guy. I served 2 churches for 15+ years in Mississippi. I married my best friend and then lost her after 9 years to Cystic Fibrosis. Being an Uncle has been my favorite job to date. My heart is to learn Russian and live in Ukraine and work with students and orphans and volunteers.
I work with International Teams in Ukraine, bringing people together to help the oppressed.